Practising buttoning - activities to try

Buttons are a hard skill to master as it involves both hands working together but making slightly different movements. Your child will not really be able to do this until after the age of four.

Here are some activity ideas to help your child practise buttoning.

Activity ideas

• Start practicing with larger flat buttons of a contrasting colour to the clothing, gradually
  progressing to smaller ones. Ensure that the button hole is large enough for the button to
  easily fit through (old cardigans are good for practicing on as the wool tends to have
  stretched after years of use, also clothing with toggles rather than buttons is easier to start
  with)
• Start buttoning at the bottom of a shirt; it is easier to line up the bottom of each side of a
  shirt to make sure the buttons and holes are aligned correctly. Top buttons are always more
  difficult to fasten, as your child can’t see what their hands are doing. This is particularly true
  in school shirts, as not only can your child not see the top button but the button hole is
  aligned in a different direction
• Limit the number of buttons a child has to do; only undo the top few buttons when taking
  off a shirt or blouse and then remove the garment over the head. It can then be put on over
  the head the next morning and only a few buttons will need to be done up
• Push the button part-way through the hole so that it is ‘peeking’ out the other side. Ask the
  child to pull the button the rest of the way through. Once he/she can do this, help the child
  to push the button into the hole for you to pull through. Now put the two parts of the task
  together

Alternative strategies

• Choose trousers or skirts with an elastic waist band if buttons and buckles are difficult
• Velcro can be used instead of buttons. For example, on a coat or shirt, use Velcro on the
  back of the flap and sew buttons of the top flap so that the shirt still appears to be buttoned
• Try leaving cuff buttons done up. Alternatively, sew a piece of elastic or a button attached
  with elastic thread across the cuffs so that it can be stretched open when the hand is pushed
  through
• Use elastic thread instead of cotton to attach buttons which will allow the child to pull a shirt
  over their head with buttons fastened. You may have to sew the top shirt buttons and cuff
  buttons more loosely

Activities to improve buttoning skills

• Post coins into a tub with a slot cut out of the lid and then progress to posting large buttons
  into a tub. Once the child is able to post the large buttons, move onto smaller buttons into a
  different tub with smaller slots
• Thread large plastic buttons onto a lace starting with the buttons with one hole only and
  then progressing up to buttons with five holes
• Thread small beads onto a pipe cleaner, and then progress onto threading beads onto a lace
• Post large buttons through a circular mat (beer mat) with a large slot cut out of it, then
  progress to smaller buttons
• Post loose buttons through a variety of button holes
• Create lots of different shapes using felt and cut a slot (buttonhole) into the centre of each
  shape. Get a long piece of ribbon and sew a button on each end of the ribbon. Ask the child
  to remove all the different felt shapes (one by one) from the ribbon over one of the buttons,
  and then when all the shapes are off the ribbon, ask the child to place all the shapes back
  onto the ribbon. Once your child can manage the ribbon, get a short piece of elastic and sew
  a button on each end of the elastic. Ask the child to again use the felt shapes as above by
  removing each shape and then putting each shape back onto the elastic
• Practise buttoning up garments which are draped over the back of a chair with the buttons
  facing outwards
• Now practise buttoning up a garment which is on the child. Start with large buttons and
  buttonholes and then gradually start making the buttons smaller and smaller. If your child is
  still finding it difficult; push the button part-way through the hole so that it is ‘peeking’ out
  the other side. Ask the child to pull the button the rest of the way through. Once he/she can
  do this, help the child to push the button into the hole for you to pull through. Now get your
  child to put the two parts of the task together so they can independently button up their
  garment